Romanian film and theater director Liviu Ciulei died in Germany Tuesday, October 25, at the age of 88. Born on July 7, 1923, Liviu Ciulei is known as a Romanian theater and film director, as well as film writer, actor, architect, educator, costume and set designer. With a career spanning over 50 years, he had an important influence on the Romanian cinema and theater.

Ciulei studied architecture and theater at the Royal Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Bucharest. He made his theater debut in 1946, in an Odeon Theatre production of William Shakespeare's “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. He won the Directors’ award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1965 for “The Forest of the Hanged” (Padurea Spanzuratilor) the film version of the Romanian writer Liviu Rebreanu’s novel with the same name, and made more than 20 films, both as an actor and director.

Between 1980 and 1985, Ciulei was the artistic director of Guthrie Theater in Minnesota. Afterwards, from 1986, he taught at Columbia University and at New York University. After the 1989 revolution in Romania, Liviu Ciulei came back to his home country. He was named Honorary Director of the Bulandra theater in Bucharest as a recognition of his life's work.

Irina popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Cinemagia.ro)